After the shock, acceptance of what has happened, the search for accountability and the need for a way forward to prevent the issue occurring again, we are seeing the rise of the blame game. It’s not my fault, someone else to blame….

This unfortunately is true of many areas of work/projects when things do not go to plan, but how can you head problems off at the pass?

In your projects monitoring and controlling of your projects is a vital and necessary part. This applies to budgetary and delivery constraints, as well as to avoid major risks delaying, or even derailing your projects.

There are many simple templates that can help you to do this , but if you don’t have regular reviews things can easily to go wrong.

There is also the issue of being unpopular as a nay sayer, and sticking your head above the parapet as someone who will speak up when things are not as they should be. It’s not easy to be the one to raise issues that nobody wants to hear about and people do not want to acknowledge, but if you don’t the risks will overtake the project with unwelcome results.

These are a few simple ways that you can identify risks and plan to take action:

Use a risk grid to calculate how high the risk is in terms of probability and severity. Deal with the highest risk first, but keep reviewing as a low risk can soon become a high risk.

Use a highlight report using RAG to briefly detail the issue, how much of a risk it is and suggesting a solution.

Actively monitor any changes to the project. Few projects (if any) have no changes that take place during the life of the project so ensure that a change request form is completed and signed off by the Sponsor before making any changes.

When training I often hear the phrase “If only I had….” relating to an issue that had it been properly monitored and risk managed would not have resulted in a major problem in the project. My question to you is; are you monitoring all risks and changes in your projects effectively, or will you be saying if only I had…?